(Picture is Kimberly's Sadie Hawkins dress)
"I can sing high and sing low," me and Kurt harmonized a warm up quietly as we made breakfast for ourselves on a January morning. "I can sing high and sing slow."
Rachel came out of her room, tying her hair up into a ponytail and whispered, "He's sleeping!"
"Would you like some tea?" I sang quietly.
"I would. Yes. Shh," Rachel whispered.
"Brody's here?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah," Rachel said with a smile.
"Did he spend the night?" I asked.
"Yeah," me and Kurt brought our breakfast over to the coffee table in the living room. "We had dinner last night at Balthazar and he insisted on taking me home."
"Rachel," Kurt said as we looked back at her bedroom, the curtain slightly parted where we could see his sleeping form.
"You know, the train ride back to Manhattan is really long, so I just invited him to stay over."
"Oh, Rachel Berry, I am scandalized," I said as we sat on the couch.
"Well, I just–I seized the moment. I really–I like him. And I'm tired of second-guessing something that feels so right."
"Mm-hm," Kurt said teasingly.
"Mm-hm,"
"Well, as long as you're happy and I have a white noise machine, I guess I'm happy too," Kurt said.
"I'm right next to her, can I sleep with you if I have to?" I asked, getting a look from Rach.
"Yep," he said, playing with the string of his tea bag.
"How was your first week?" I asked.
"It was good. You know, a little lonely. But I was thinking, to meet people, I'd join the show choir called the Adam's Apples."
"Oh, no, no, no. No," Rachel said.
"What?" I asked.
"Oh, come on, Kim, you know," she said before looking at my twin. "Listen to me. There is a very rigid performing arts hierarchy at NYADA, and show choir is, like, it's the lowest of the low. It's beneath stage managers and carpenters. That is social and career suicide."
"But at McKinley–"
"We're not at McKinley anymore," Rachel interrupted my twin. "We're done being underdogs. If you want a club, just do anything but the Adam's Apples. That's what all the future chorus kids do."
"Okay, what's wrong with being in the ensemble for some Broadway shows? I for one, would love to be a chimney sweep in Mary Poppins if it wasn't closing in March," I said.
"If you do show choir, alright, you might as well be doomed to a life of playing a dancing teapot at Disneyland," Rachel ignored me.
"And what's wrong with Disneyland? I've been wanting to go there since we went to World," I said.
"Really Kimberly? A theme park performer?"
"Well we all have to start somewhere," I glared at her before turning to my brother. "Do what's right for you. You gotta be you in this industry, and that starts in college." My phone started ringing. I went over to the kitchen. "Oh, it's Ethan!" I answered it. "Hey there, aren't you in school?"
"I have a free period, so I'm hanging out in the old choir room that's now Sue's workout room or whatever."
"Great," I said sarcastically. "What's up?"
"So . . . McKinley is having this Sadie Hawkins dance and um–"
"You want me to ask you to it?" I asked with a smile.
"Yeah since it's girls ask the guys and you know, you wouldn't know about it–"
"When is it?"
"Next Friday."
"Oh, Ethan, uh . . ." I looked over at Kurt and Rachel and mouthed "Next Friday?"
"Nothing," Kurt whispered.
"If you're not able to–"
"No, I have an extra check coming from Vogue that I can use to fly home for the weekend next week. Alright, Ethan Williams, will you go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with me?"
He started laughing, "Ever so professional Miss Hummel. Yes."
"Wonderful. I'll fly in next Thursday," I said as I heard the bell ring at McKinley.
"And that's the bell."
"Yeah, I heard it. Felt a little weird to hear that again," I laughed.
"It's calling you back," he said, making me chuckle. "Alright, I'll see you next week. I'm excited."
"I am too. Have fun."
"You too."
He hung up first. I put my phone on the table.
"So you're going home next week?" Rachel asked.
"Yep. I need a dress . . ."
* * * * *
"Kimmy?!"
"In my room!" I yelled back to my brother as I zipped up my suitcase for my flight the next day. He pushed aside the curtain as he came in, throwing his schoolbag on my bed. "What happened?"
"Love."
"Blaine?"
"No," he laid down on my bed. I put my suitcase by my window as he continued. "Okay, I met this guy–"
"Is he cute?"
"Handsome."
"Your type?"
"Obviously."
"So brown eyes and dark hair?"
"No."
"Wow. That's new," I sat on my bed.
"He's actually kind of your type."
"And I guess our sexual attractions are twins as well," I laid down. "Name?"
"Adam Crawford."
"Wait," I rolled onto my side to face him, "The founder of Adam's Apples?"
"Yeah . . ."
"You joined?"
"Yeah . . ."
"Good . . . Oh my god he's British, have we fallen for men who are alike?"
"Possibly. I just don't know if he likes me back. I mean, he's told me I would be good for this one play I was reading for this one club, and then he complimented my plié in dance, like really complimented it."
I chuckled, "Hot. Okay, well, you know what, Kurt? If this man doesn't make the move, then you have to. This is New York! Things move quickly here! We're not in Lima anymore having to wait for Ethan or Blaine to make the first move anymore."
"Speaking of Ethan, what's going on with you guys?" he rolled onto his side to face me.
"I don't know exactly. It's like we're dating again, but we're not. We cuddled a lot when we went to bed on Christmas. And there may have been a kiss when he and Blaine left, and I'm not talking about a quick peck on the lips, I mean like slow, passionate, we're made for each other kiss. But I mean, we haven't made it official, and we haven't told each other we loved each other so–"
"So it's just not official."
"I guess. Ugh, why does love have to be weird?"
"Great question.
* * * * *
"I am so glad that you were able to come," Ethan said as we walked into McKinley.
"Me too. Does anyone know that I'm–"
"Kimberly!"
I turned to see Brittany and Sam making their way over to us. I smiled as they approached, pulling them into a hug when I was able to.
"I didn't think you would be here," Brittany said.
"Yeah, Ethan told me about the dance last week."
"Oh my god, Kim!"
I turned to see Tina and Blaine coming in.
"Girl, no way," Blaine pulled me into a hug. "What–"
"Surprise!" I exclaimed.
"Oh, this is so exciting!" Tina exclaimed, hugging me.
We all went into the gym to see it decorated like a winter wonderland. I looked around in awe.
"Student council really pulled out all the stops this year," I said.
"Can't wait for prom," Ethan said, looking down at me. "Would you want to come back for–"
I nodded, "Yeah." We kept walking. "Ethan?"
"Hmm?"
"What are we? Are we just super close friends, or–"
"I want to start over. I want to be that Warbler who fell in love with that short, but adorable Junior at this interesting public school," Ethan said, making me laugh. "I want to be yours again, Kim."
"I would be alright with that," I said with a smile.
The rest of the right went off without a hitch. The Glee guys performed, and when the others found out I was there, including some of the newbies, they were all excited. Everything was perfect until Sam came to Ethan with Blaine, telling him that he had made a breakthrough in some Warbler mystery. After some begging from me to know, I was dragged to the guys locker room, finding Finn there as well.
"Kim!" he said, surprised. "I had no idea you were home."
"Just for the weekend," I replied.
"And Kurt and Rachel?"
"No, they're back in New York. I'll tell them that you said hi. What's going on?"
"Sam thinks something weird is going on with the Warblers. They pulled out all the stops at Sectionals, and then Trent is suddenly missing," Ethan explained.
"You mean a capella stops?" I asked.
"No! They were doing flips, and cartwheels," Sam said.
"Very un-Dalton like," I said, crossing my arms as Sam set an IPad with side by side pictures of the Warblers in front of my younger brother.
"Half the Warblers have gained ten pounds of muscle since they joined the team."
"I already looked into this. This is a weight-training regimen they stole from Vocal Adrenaline," Finn said.
"You can't just go from being a twig to Jean-Claude Van Damme in a few months. Tell him, Sam," Blaine said.
"The average male gains up to two pounds of muscle per month. Fact!" Sam clapped his hands.
"And that's without cheating. We looked it up online," Ethan said.
"Also," Sam sat down across from Finn. "Look at this cell phone video Artie and Joe took down at the Lima Bean the other day."
He played it, it was a video of a Warbler, yelling at a worker, "What the hell is this? Did you put Splenda in my latte? You're a barista! You don't think! Remember six things."
"Here comes the biscotti throw," Sam said.
"The sugar comes in the brown packets and the Splenda is in the yellow!" the Warbler yelled before starting to leave. "I freaking hate Splenda!" He threw more things. "I–It tastes like pencils! Why are you putting pencils in my latte?"
"Wow. I've never seen so much rage testosterone in my life," I said, crossing my arms.
"Now, that is 'roid rage and you know it," Sam said to my younger brother.
"Look," Blaine handed Finn the Show Choir Rule Book, "chapter seven, subsection sixteen, rule four, line nine. 'Any team using performance-enhancing drugs including amphetamines, anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, or Four Loko will be automatically disqualified from competition'. The rule is retroactive, so if we can prove that they used it at Sectionals, they'll have to forge, and we'll win. Glee Club is back. Blam!" He high-fived Sam and Ethan.
"Guys, what you are asking me to do here is beyond serious," Finn said. "The Warblers are one of the most respected glee clubs in the country. To accuse them of this when all we have for proof is photos of some dudes' heads and a cell phone video? Look, I want Glee Club back just as much as you guys, but this isn't enough. We need more real proof."
"We have some," Ethan said before he, Blaine, and Sam snapped their fingers.
A Warbler who I recognized as Trent came out from the showers in his Dalton uniform, "Me."
"I knew when Trent didn't perform with the Warblers at Sectionals that something was up," Blaine said.
"Yeah, he is kind of like the sunshine of the group, isn't he?" Finn asked with a smile, looking back at us.
"Blaine and I joined the Warblers together," Trent explained. "It was a band of brothers, a group joined by harmony and honor. And then Blaine and Ethan left and Sebastian came, then Hunter–They just chipped away at everything that was good and special about us." He went on to explain how Sebastian had gotten ahold of performance enhancing drugs. "Winning was everything. You took the shots or didn't perform. Singing with the Warblers is my life, but I couldn't do it. My hormones can't handle heroic doses of testosterone. I don't even shave yet. The Warblers mean everything to me and it's killing me to betray them like this."
"You're not betraying them," Blaine said. "Hunter betrayed the Warblers. You're saving them."
"Yeah, that's what they said about Brutus. And Cassius. Look, if I go public with this, then the Warblers' reputation, it's ruined. Forever. Years of honorable melodies and harmonies, all forgotten."
"Mate, the Warblers' reputation was ruined the second they decided to cheat to win," Ethan said. "Fact."
"So what do you say?" Finn asked. "Will you do this? Will you testify against the Warblers?"
* * * * *
"Let's hope that actually works," Ethan said as we went to my door.
"No kidding. It doesn't matter how honorable the Warblers are, that current group isn't. You know, you would think that they would all be able to carry their own weight and be their own people, but they can't. They needed you and Blaine then, and now they're just going along with whatever Sebastian and that Hunter guy says."
"That's what makes New Directions so special," Ethan said as I unlocked the door. "We're all our own people. That's what makes us great."
"Exactly," I opened the door. "Do you want to come in for a bit? I don't think my parents will care and I want to see you as much as I can before I go back to New York."
"Yeah sure," he said as I brought him in.
"On second thought . . . Would you like to spend the night? I think some of your pajamas are still here from last year. They should be in my closet."
"I would like that."